FACT Celebrates World Cord Blood Day with a Weekly Series: Choosing a FACT-Accredited Cord Blood Bank Matters

Posted in :: 2021 Volume 5 :: Tuesday, October 26th, 2021

By Mikaela A. VanMoorleghem, MPA, FACT Education and Training Coordinator

World Cord Blood Day, organized by Save the Cord Foundation, raises awareness of current and future uses of cord blood stem cells. To mark the occasion, The Save the Cord Foundation will host a free online conference on November 15th, welcoming parents, doctors, nurses and midwives.

World Cord Blood Day started from a need to expand cord blood education globally. To date there have been over 40,000 cord blood transplants worldwide.  Cord blood stem cells are currently used to treat over 80 different life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell anemia.  Cord blood stem cells are also proving critical to new areas of regenerative medicine to potentially treat spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, autism, type 1 diabetes and much more (Save the Cord Foundation website).

As an inspiring partner, and in anticipation of World Cord Blood Day on November 15th, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), invites you to view a four-episode, weekly series on why choosing a FACT-accredited family or public cord blood bank is important when considering donating or storing your child’s cord blood stem cells.

Each episode is presented by a Cord Blood Banking expert from a FACT-accredited program.  Episode topics include:

  1. Episode One, October 18th: Linda Peltier, Laboratory Manager at the McGill University Health Centre Stem Cell Transplant Program, outlines the benefits of choosing a FACT-accredited family or public cord blood bank.
  2. Episode Two, October 25th: Phillip Johnson, Scientific Director of the Queensland Cord Blood Bank at the Mater, discusses how FACT accreditation promotes safety and quality of cord blood units.
  3. Episode Three, November 1st: Dr. Guy Klamer, from the Sydney Cord Blood Bank, presents on how FACT-accredited banks were prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. Episode Four, November 8th: Thibaut Gervais, from Saint-Luc University in Brussels, Belgium, educates donors on the uses of cord blood.

To view each weekly episode, please visit the FACT YouTube channel! If you have questions about FACT cord blood bank accreditation, please contact Nancy Schulte.

Reference:

Why do we need World Cord Blood Day?, Save the Cord Foundation. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from
https://www.worldcordbloodday.org/learn-about-world-cord-blood-day.html